Japan8217;s Aum cult hints at apology

TOKYO, NOV 18: Japan's Aum Supreme Truth doomsday cult has written to Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi hinting it would apologise for its crim...

TOKYO, NOV 18: Japan8217;s Aum Supreme Truth doomsday cult has written to Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi hinting it would apologise for its crimes for the first time, according to a copy obtained on Thursday.

The letter, signed by acting representative of the sect Tatsuko Muraoka, said the sect knew about the hostility its members faced when they moved into new communities and urged the Prime Minister to halt plans to bring in legislation directed against the it. quot;We cannot deny that behind this concern is our religious group8217;s unclear stance towards a series of crimes our followers are said to be involved in,quot; the cult said in the letter.

Aum Supreme Truth cult members, led by Shoko Asahara, shocked the world when they spread Nazi-invented Sarin gas in Tokyo8217;s busiest subway in March 1995, killing 12 people and injuring thousands.

The letter was dated Wednesday, when a key parliamentary committee approved two bills cracking down on the cult. The powerful lower house gave its approval on Thursday, and sent the legislation to the upper chamber.

The sect said it took the public8217;s concern quot;gravelyquot; and had halted new recruitments and other activities. quot;First of all, we must tell you we are preparing to review the incidents and issue an official statement,quot; it said, before detailing reasons why it no longer posed a danger. Repeated police raids had found no evidence of any criminal plans, the group said.

Asahara is in jail while on trial for 17 charges including murder in the subway attack. The group was blamed for many other crimes, including a 1994 gas attack in Matsumoto, central Japan, that killed seven people and injured hundreds and the murder of an anti-sect lawyer and his family in 1989.

Some of Asahara8217;s disciples have been found guilty of the Sarin gas attacks and other crimes but the sect as an organisation has never admitted its responsibility in public or apologised. The cult escaped being outlawed under the Subversive Activities Prevention Act in January 1997 when a legal panel ruled there was no reason to believe it could still pose a threat to society.